Border Security: can a TV show make you xenophobic?
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Bumped off my goat track when I was on holidays a couple of weeks ago, I found myself watching Border Security on channel 7. It was probably a repeat, or a new episode or who cares actually anyway.
The point is that it’s been around for years but I’ve never really watched it before. As I sat there, watching customs officials busting a middle eastern couple for……
…….trying to smuggle in a box of vegetables with weevils in them and a Spanish guy with traces of cocaine in his bag and a young Asian woman who had a forged visa stamp in her passport…..I found myself having the most disturbing reaction.
“Idiots” I thought. “How dare they! Send them home!”
Now the fact I had these thoughts at all was very confronting. Appalling. I am the OPPOSITE of that person. I am all about compassion for refugees and embracing immigration. I am LOUD about my position on those matters.
But somehow, the way the show is edited or the basic premise on which it is built (that there are scary, dangerous, evil people who are trying to infiltrate our country and……destroy it!) somehow creates this feeling of xenophobia. What is xenophobia? It’s basically a fear of foreigners….something John Howard used to great effect to win the 2001 election on the back of Tampa. Also, Pauline Hanson famously replied “Please explain” when asked if she was xenophobic during a 60 Minutes interview.
Back in 2006, journalist John Elder wrote about Border Security – the TV show – in The Sunday Age:
The question is: how has a dangerous and election-winning issue
been transformed into prime-time entertainment? According to media
analysts and social researchers interviewed by The Sunday
Age, the question half answers itself.
Says Harold Mitchell, chairman of media buying agency Mitchell
& Partners: “It taps into the psyche of the Australian
population in that security is top of mind … in this time of
instability worldwide. And when you look at the audience, the major
appeal is with older people. This is John Howard’s territory.”
Media analyst Steve Allen, of Sydney firm Fusion Strategy, says:
“These are the times we live in. While there’s been a worldwide
trend in terrorism, we’ve been relatively shielded here. But with
the Bali bombings and (Australia’s involvement in) the war in Iraq,
and the fact Osama bin Laden has named Australia as a target,
terrorism has come closer to home.”
David Chalke, social analyst with Australia Scan and a fan of
the program, says: “We always like cops-and-robbers shows. And we
like to believe the system is working to protect us. And so we like
these honest souls who look good on the telly who are defending our
way of life and our sense of values against those who might trample
on them.
“Sure, all we get to see is a bit of cocaine or someone bringing
in bananas but who knows? Maybe the beagles will pick up some
plastic explosive. That’s what makes the show terribly contemporary
because the threat lies beyond the borders of Australia. “
[source: The Age]
The whole show is based on the premise of fear. Foreigners are
scary. They could be terrorists! They could be drug smugglers! They
could be here to steal your job or blow up your supermarket or destroy
our entire agricultural system with their weavils!
The show began under the Howard govt back when it was using the idea of border protection and an anti-refugee platform to tap into the worst underbelly of the Australian psyche – xenophobia. The Howard government was instrumental in getting the show happening – it couldn’t have gone ahead without government approval and co-operation.
If you watched the clip at the start of this post, it’s clever how the producers lure you into watching, rapt, as some woman is interrogated about A STAMP IN HER PASSPORT. Or something equally INANE. But it all seems gripping. The music in the background, the voice-over….it’s all designed to create heightened drama. AND FEAR. You would think she was holding an entire 747 full of passengers hostage with an arsenal of machine guns. But oh wait, it’s JUST A STAMP IN HER PASSPORT.
Do you watch this show? It used to be a huge hit – the highest rating show on TV at one stage – and huge enough for channel 9 to launch a similar show whose name I don’t know. Why is this whole idea of controlling our borders and creating fear and suspicion still being propagated? Why aren’t there any shows about the terrible conditions refugees endure and the incredible sacrifices and risks they take to try for a better life?
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great book about how john howard used this issue to win the election. dark victory by david marr. highly reccomend it! great post mia, couldn’t agree more re:xenophobia!
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“Why aren’t there any shows about the terrible conditions refugees endure and the incredible sacrifices and risks they take to try for a better life?”
Got me thinking Mia, some ideas for reality shows I would really like to see on the commercial networks (although I understand it will probably never happen!)-
• Definitely the one you mentioned in the above sentence. What about the refugees in the detention centres, a cross section of detainees and how they cope inside and then outside the detention centre walls, why they escaped the country they came from…
• People that are homeless, how they became homeless, their stories behind how they ended up living on and off the streets and how they try to get themselves out of the situation or not. (Choir of Hard Knocks on ABC touches on this but mostly focuses on the actual choir)
• People with different types of mental illness and what it means for their day to day life to have to cope with it and how they deal with it.
• Women from all walks of life trying to (or not trying to) do it all, family and/or career and the real challenges and obstacles they face. We still do not have a high percentage of women running big companies or in government and I wanna know why!
It bothers me that the vast majority of Australians get their “news” from programs such as ACA, TT and 60 mins. These programs often help to re-enforce unhelpful stereotypes, are often one-sided, sensationalize issues and in some cases incite hatred. I’m not saying that it is all bad, but Australians should understand that the programs are primarily focused on the entertainment and ratings factor. For a more balanced view thank god for SBS and ABC.
I don’t feel particularly xenophobic after watching the clip above of the Korean woman that was going to run out of money in a couple of days of being in Sydney, actually I feel empathy for her, she seemed genuinely distressed.
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Love the show! I think it has done a lot for giving us a little insight of how customs works. Like other people have mentioned, try traveling to the US. 4 or 5 times I have had my bags searched each time when traveling for work (in business class- not that it matters
The way you are questioned it is like everyone is a terrorist. Ah but that is what makes traveling fun!
Krissi
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They had a NZ version quite some time ago. I heard of it being REALLY funny (in the vein of Motorway Patrol) but never saw it personally. Having come across NZ Customs numerous times, and getting a bit of a laugh each time, I think the process makes for great entertainment! Personally when I see some foreigner on Border Security bringing in apples or noodles I must admit my reaction is “are they crazy, do they think we don’t HAVE food in Australia?” Have I been duped? Am I easily manipulated?
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The best part about the recession, is I can’t afford to travel anymore,so all this is not a problem for me……..
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If you think you are targeted when going through the airport, try doing it as a woman in a headscarf.
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“these shows are creating a very racist world” – Tara.
I think racism has been around a little longer than Border Security. It’s not just confined to Australia either! Racism exists everywhere.
Yes, the show is sensationalist. It’s meant to be entertaining. What reality show isn’t beefed up for audiences?
I am extremely glad that the hard working staff of Immigration and Customs take their jobs seriously. The laws are in place to protect Australian people, flora and fauna. Simple. Respect the laws or don’t enter.
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> I respect everyone has an opinion but this is the truth.
Terry – sorry. It’s an opinion.
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Ok how about a little bit of truth now.
Xenophobic maybe, maybe not. It really needs to be put into context.
Saying Customs are racist and are wanna be Police is so untrue. As a percentage at Sydney Airport it would be close to 50% are from non english speaking backgrounds.
Targeting Middle Eastern people as Terrorists is crap. More “anglo Aussies” get targeted coming from Thailand, Bali and Vietnam than Middle Eastern poeple coming in on Emirates or Ethihad Airlines.
As for the Korean woman in the Episode of Border Security, she had the intention to ILLEGALLY work in Australia, taking jobs away from citizens who need them. Or worse working in a Brothel which is immoral and possibly ILLEGAL also.
The comments on Refugees saying the should be commended, yes they do have massive problems in their own countries I acknowledge that, however they too are entering Australia ILLEGALLY. There are ways and means of gaining entry into Australia without doing it ILLEGALLY tens of thousands do this each year, and make massive contributions to Australia.
However these “boat people” or “refugees” pass numerous countries that will have refuge for them from their problems and sail straight into Australia where they are put into a detention facility for processing which has better living conditions than these people have ever dreamt of.
A percentage of these people not all of them have extensive criminal history in their homeland and therefore throw their passports away in hope of a fresh start which then prolongs their refugee processing status.
In a nutshell let Customs and Immigration do their jobs. It’s here to benefit us as a nation.
The Government makes the decisions of what the stipulations are for entering Australia and as a result we are a Nation of very few disease problems.
I respect everyone has an opinion but this is the truth.
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Mia, I do have to say that I love this show. I don’t think it casts all foreign people in a bad light – just the individuals who are doing the wrong thing. I find it compelling to see all the kinds of things that are tried to be smuggled in to the country. These customs officials play an important role in preventing drugs, illegal plants and wildlife, and other paraphernalia from entering the country. I’ve never noticed the ‘fearsome’ music – I’ll pay attention to it next time.
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Lozabelle & Britts, I travel fairly frequently and have been pulled over to the side for the explosives swab/test more times that I can remember. I’ve also beeped going through the metal detector and therefore come under closer scrutiny and had to remove items and go through again. I’ve never been bothered by these small inconvenience, I just let the people do their job.
btw I am about as white Australian looking as you can get, and I’m not hot either so I doubt they are just trying to get the chance to have a chat with me!
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i think there are two very different issues here.
I’m pretty sure no one questions the rightness of airport security. It’s essential.
it’s making a sensationalised reality tv show out of it that is the unappealing aspect. Not the existence of the system itself.
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I think the narration on this show is the problem alot of time. There was an episode where an English man and his Australian wife were entering the country and the man believed that (as usual) he was being singled out because he was black. He protested loudly to the cameras and the customs staff and told them that he was fed up and that he only experienced that kind of treatment in Australia. The narrator basically interpreted this behaviour for the audience as that of a lunatic. Alot of the narration is extremely patronising.
However, if you think Australian airports are bad, try American ones! Most people who are not whiter than white are treated like suspected terrorists. We got off a flight from Paris to New York and there were lots of different nationalities on our flight. Many of them did not speak English. No signs or help of any kind in other languages. There was one queue for customs and if you did not have the correct paper work when you reached the top of the queue ( after an hour) – a man shouted at you and sent you to the end of the queue. Guess who were getting shouted at and sent confused and frustrated to the end of the queue? It was horrible.
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lozabelle – I’m white-looking as can be, no ambiguous ethnicity at all, & I still get picked out for careful checking at Melbourne Airport, once even having to open up my carry-on bag so the guy could poke through it. I just think it’s odd that the toughest time I have anywhere is *leaving* Australia.
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Lozabelle – I totally feel your pain.
I look mediterranean (dark hair, eyes and olive skin) and I ALWAYS get pulled aside too. As does my dad – who is a few shades darker than me.
Seriously, without fail, we get pulled aside. The only good thing is that when we’re in the airport together – they pull my dad aside and it gives me a break
I think it’s interesting. My sister – who somehow doesn’t look mediterranean at all and has light hair and skin – has never been singled out for a check. Nor has my fiance, who has light hair, skin and eyes.
Coincidence? Possibly. Highly unlikely though in my opinion…
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these shows are creating a very racist world. it is such a shame. even entrenching the concept of ‘our borders’ is very harmful. it leads ppl to believe that they have a real claim to this land over other ppl. in the end we are just invaders anyway. we need to be far more accepting and open to the idea that we have a fantastic country that (within the last hundred years or so) has been built on migration and letting more ppl in won’t take jobs but create them. i don’t have any greater right to the fruits of this country just because i was born here. it is pure luck and we should share this with the disadvantaged in this world. and by locking ppl out and leaving them in war torn or poverty ravaged countries we’re simply making them fester in anger and poverty and giving them nothing to lose if they do want to take it out on us. very silly and dangerous approach if you ask me. and also very inhumane.
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The thing that annoys me about getting through security at the airport (when trying to get through to the lounges to get on the plane) is that I always get pulled up for checks.
I look ambiguously Mediterranean/Middle Eastern/ethnic/who knows even though I’m 7th generation Australian and my parents are white.
Last time I flew internationally, when I went to Hong Kong in December last year, I got pulled aside in Sydney Airport after the security checks to be patted down for explosives! The security guys were really creepy and sleazy and the one who pulled me aside implied that his “friend” (another guy) would be the one who pat me down. Luckily a woman security guard pat me down. Put still, they rummaged through my carry on bags, and pat me down for explosives.
Apparently I look like someone who carries explosives on their person. Either that or the securities guys though I look hot and wanted a chance to make me feel uncomfortable.
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I think that the treatment here from our customs officers is a heck of a lot better to the service you get overseas. They have a job to protect our borders not only from refugees but from pests they might bring contained in food and from potential low lifes who will only be a drain on our economy. It’s because of customs we can live in a country such as this.
I bet you wont be bagging Customs when they one day stop something that could potentially be catastrophic. When you travel, you know the rules and if you try to bring something in you know you shouldn’t then you will be fined. Simple. It could be like Thailand or Bali where the security walk around with Machine Guns and if a trace of drugs found in your bag results in jail time.
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I really wouldn’t mind a documentary about how the system works. I too think a bit of protection is necessary. I would never arrive in a country and expect to be given free reign as to what I can and can’t bring in. The rules exist for a reason, but turning into a reality show that feeds racist attitudes is not helpful.
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I think the show is ok, I think a lot goes on that is not shown because it would be too boring (like most reality programs) and there are reasons beyond colour and nationality that officers are trained to see, that causes ppl to be searched and questioned.
I never feel xenophobic about travellers and immigrants coming to this country, both my brother and I have ended up marrying ppl born overseas in different cultures…but I do get incensed about the lack of respect shown to us as a country and let me add, often Aussies are just as disrespectful as those from other cultures.
Our flora and fauna, and jobs and society at large are too precious to muck around with. If you want to see the result of open borders, take a trip to the UK, it is interesting how it has changed since the EU rules came in.
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I actually enjoy watching this show! The dorky straight laced customs staff make me laugh, they really seem so thick (a lot of them) and I find that entertaining. It never makes me feel badly towards the foreign travellers but it does make me feel a bit sorry for the dorky people working at the airport. Some of them really seem to have come from sheltered workshops.
What annoys me is the lack of interpreters. You’d think they would emply bilingual staff particularly with quarantine matters because it is mainly just little old grandmas bringing delicacies into the country for their relatives. They genuinely don’t understand the rules and it all goes a bit pear shaped when the staff try to explain what is going on. Would be a lot easier if they had more staff who speak Mandarin, Arabic and the other major languages spoke by travellers who come here/
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Aww, I like this show. I just like seeing how our customs system works, it’s really interesting. I’ve never found it to be patronising and I’ve never had a xenophobic reaction. Of course most of the people who are questioned are foreign, they’re the ones most likely to either not understand what they can and can’t bring into the country or are just trying to smuggle things in. That doesn’t make it racist, it’s just the reality. The racism comes in to play when we, as individuals, negatively react to and evaluate what we see. Don’t blame the show, blame yourself.
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I’ve watched the show and don’t see a problem with the clip attached. She obviously didn’t understand you can’t work on a tourist visa so the Customs Officer’s instincts were correct. Of course they have to question visitors about visas etc, they’re not going to ask the same questions to Australians.
The food and other items people try and bring in could reek havoc in this country. People ignore the declaration and warnings on the customs card although they’re written in many different languages. By saying yes, it doesn’t mean the item will be confiscated, just checked to ensure it’s safe.
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As far as I can see this show is full of Asian people smuggling weird food like bull’s testicles into the country. It got a bit boring after the second time they ran that one, let alone the fiftieth.
Very true that it fosters xenophobia. Whoever said most TV is crap hit the nail right on the head.
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It is totally condescending. Truly, just because someone speaks another language doesn’t mean they’re half-wits – IT MEANS THEY SPEAK ANOTHER LANGUAGE! Oh my GOD I find it so offensive, it kills me.
It’s not just airport workers on Border Security either. My family are European and some of my aunts and uncles have strong accents, which apparently equates to people thinking they’re dumbasses. WTF?!
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Fender4eva: thank you for today’s lol comment. ‘Less reality shows and more westerns’.
Love it.
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Mia, I admire so much your innate sense of justice. It is such a rare quality, to be able to look past circumstances that would maximise personal advantage and consider what’s right. You are very brave, and a great role model for all women. Thank you for such a thoughtful post.
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I don’t watch it. I find it really quite patronising … People that don’t speak English aren’t stupid.
I do however support a strong quarantine system – especially after my grandma successfully brought snails into Australia from her village about 15 years ago! She though dad might want to cook up a retro snack.
Slightly off topic, but a similar theme was the sort of xenophobia seen this week in my local rag. The headline to the story was ‘African crime spree’ with a short story about two incidents that had occured in the last week. One was a sexual assault where the perpetrator was described as a ‘tall African male’ and the other was I think a mugging involving a group of African men.
The story, although small, just ANNOYED me so much! Why is a law and order issue all of a sudden an ethnic issue? If the perpetrators were Anglo-Saxon, would that be worthy of including in the headline? I think not. Also, it just assumed that ‘African’ denotes a homogenous group – it’s a big continent!
I was so pissed off, I rang and spoke to the editor who was really gracious and apologetic and realised the story was essentially devisive in an area that’s proudly culturally diverse. It felt so good to do something about my annoyance.
I s’pose what I’m getting at Mia, is why don’t you ring and complain? Be vocal, beyond the blog. It feels rockin’.
x NJ
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Could only manage to watch half of this because of the life sapping music in the background. Whilst very touching (not really) that this nice man is concerned about her not having sufficient funds, I daresay I would fall into that category on arrival in Paris or Rome. Not enough funds to cover department store shopping, not large enough pants for pastry eating and liver not capable of the punishment it will get drinking all that wine. These shows are vile and degrading of people. I’d hate to be on Korean national television and having to plead my case to a man who clearly needs to re-think that moustache.
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Commercial channel news, drama, comedy, reality almost all sucks. Plus there are really annoying advertisements.
The commercial news, ‘investigative’ reports and justice style programs are (mostly) laughably simplistic and way too leading in their content.
This in turn leads to a misinformed public. I am shocked that people don’t realise that they are being served up the television equivalent of fast food every night in their living rooms.
Sure, ABC and SBS aren’t always perfect, but you have a much better chance of getting a better quality and range of programs and information.
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Get rid of ALL reality tv shows, and put on more docos,and I don’t mind the occasional Western. Remember those? That was when Tv was enjoyable……
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I was once told that most of the airport custom officers are people who tried to get into the police force but failed. Hence the attitude. I find them very racist and rude to people of colour. I’m all for protecting our country but as the saying goes, innocent until proven guilty.
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i was forced to watch this once when my MIL was visiting. I ground my teeth for the duration and vowed never to watch it again.
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Almost any commercial television program run under a banner of ‘justice’ [ including the fictional 'CSI' kind ] actually only serve to distort the meaning of true justice and create a culture of merciless accusation, judgment and unforgiveness.
Think how many innocent people have been wrongly ‘exposed’ by this kind of tabloid journalism. Of course, there’s no obligation for the program to air a followup on any cases where their accused was acquitted in an actual court of law. And so the ‘accused’ can never clear their name in a trial by media.
I really think the future of our society depends on a comprehensive trial of the media – advertising, entertainment, infotainment and ‘journalism’. The media broadly needs to be held to account for it’s influence and take responsibility for it’s social impact.
Thank God at least for SBS and the ABC in this country !
More broadly on the media, I just don’t think we’re at risk of Sharia Law or Chinese communism, just because Perez Hilton, Jerry Springer and any and all ‘shock jocks’ aren’t allowed to just mouth off with whatever rabid filth they feel like, under the extremely broad reaches of ‘freedom of speech’. Absolute freedom without borders has desperately failed our morally decaying culture.
Sorry to get a little off topic there ! Pissed about it tho.
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I occasionally watch it because I love seeing the sniffer dogs at airports, and it’s cheaper and less stressful than going to the airport just to watch the dogs.
I hate it too, although the best thing I ever saw on it was some loud-mouth American who was being questioned over something and was completely enraged that someone would question him, this white, middle-class AMERICAN, and think he was a terrorist. At the end of it all, they let him go and he said to the camera, “Just dreadful, I’m never coming back here!”
Well, good, quite frankly.
But I’ve never liked the fear-mongering they do when it comes to anyone who isn’t white. Every time I watch it and there isn’t a dog on the screen, I sit there fuming and eventually have to scream. I also really hate how they put it on at 6.30 or 7.30 (I forget), when kids can see it. I don’t want my kids, or any kids, being exposed to that kind of negativity that says, only these people who look in this particular way can come into Australia.
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Is it the foreigners we should be worrying about?
http://www.theage.com.au/national/train-gang-bashes-indian-student-20090511-azbq.html
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Yas, i agree sometimes they can be patronising. But every passenger coming into this country is given a questionnaire in their own language if they dont speak English.
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Mia, what do you suggest? Do we let people from every country in the world just lob here. No one can blame them for wanting a better life, but we dont have the infrastructure to accomodate the masses. We have plenty of land, but most of it is unlivable. BTW, John Howard was duped by members of his own party about the Tampa.
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what scares me more are shows like a current affair, today tonight and 60 mins masquerading as real, hard-hitting journalism…and the general public which seems to lap up this facade.
sensationalism in media seems to get ratings.
for every person watching these shows with a grain of salt, i’d wager there are five more taking them as gospel.
*shudder*
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Glad I don’t watch a lot of tv most of it is utter crap
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It’s sad that exploitative programs like this try to tap into the worst instincts in people.
Many refugees have suffered the loss of loved ones, torture and other atrocities most of us can’t even imagine. They should be commended for being brave enough to make a new life.
Great post Mia. There is a lot more to you than Frockwatch (which I love by the way).
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I’ve never watched it, but when I arrived back at Tullamarine airport last year after a holiday in Europe, there was a sign saying something like “Channel 7′s Border Security will be filimng here today. Please advise if you do not want to be filmed.” Which seems reasonable – except that the sign was in English only. So if any non-English-speaking person didn’t want to be filmed, they might not even be aware they can refuse. I’m *sure* that’s just accidental, Channel? Right?
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This show annoys me so much. The guards raise their voices when talking to people who don’t speak English, and act very patronising, with frequent looks to the camera implying ‘what an idiot!’. I fully support that we need strict quarantine to protect our flora and fauna, but not everyone in the world knows that, and surely we don’t need to film them finding out.
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